ADVENTURE STUDIES
What is Adventure Studies? Simply put, it is a university program that provides extensive training in the hard skills of guiding and the inner workings of the adventure tourism industry. There are, what feels like, unlimited opportunities to explore adventure in all aspects of the outdoors. Looking back to the beginning of my two years in the Adventure Studies program, I had a ‘clear’ picture of what I wanted my life in adventure to consist of; the pursuit of activity that will push the limits of my comfort zone. Sixteen months completely immersed in the outdoors did exactly that. While I had assumed that such a program would challenge my physical ability, there is no comparison to the mental growth that can be found in those environments… and there was even some fun had along the way ;)
I could write pages explaining the activities and the places I visited throughout my time in Adventure Studies however, that would be leaving a hole in the fullness of my experience. The thing that truly made those two years so special were the people I shared my time with. People that were nothing but strangers two years ago are now the people that I have shared some of my highest highs, and inevitably some difficult lows. Some things just can’t be expressed through writing. With all that being said, I have made my best attempt at capturing some of those experiences;
WILDERNESS TRAVEL
📍WELLS GRAY PROVINCIAL PARK
Who knew that a university program could start by going on a multi day backpacking trip through Wells Gray?! I certainly did not. Wilderness Travel was a perfect introduction to the world of Adventure Studies. We spent five days navigating and bushwhacking around Battle Mountain, getting to know some of the people who had been strangers just a week earlier. I was far from accustomed to being evaluated on my ability to move through and exist in the backcountry, which took some time to adjust to. Hiking uphill and carrying a heavy pack has become one of my most comfortable places and with the support of the Spondonglers (obviously the best group name) there was no easier way to adjust to the world of university.
I entered the Adventure Studies program with the intention of solely completing courses in the mountain stream. There was absolutely NO way that I was going to place myself in a whitewater environment unnecessarily. However, one of the first required field course of year one is whitewater kayaking. It was a rather uncomfortable week that consisted of me being stuck upside down in a kayak and swimming rapids (I wasn’t very good at the whole kayaking thing yet). It was one of the first adventure activities that left me feeling like I was so out of my element yet it was also something that made me want to get past the fear. For some reason a week of suffering made me feel compelled to take on the rest of the swiftwater rescue progression…
MOUNTAIN 1
📍WAPTA GLACIER
Spending five days on the Wapta Glacier was easily the highlight of my semester. I had spent years listening to stories and longing at photos of my father exploring in the mountains. There was something incredibly special about knowing I had summited my first peak on the glacier where he had done the same. While the passion my father has for the mountains is very clear, I was beginning to understand the magnetism that the mountains hold.
Our trip started with a decent 17km trek up to the Bow hut, which would act as base camp, with our 40+ pound backpacks (a rude awakening for me after a year of ultralight backpacking). The trail wound through the valley following along side the Bow river as we slowly made our way up to the base of the glacier. I had imagined the hut sitting at the foot of the glacier, the way it had been just a few years prior, but that was no longer the case. Regardless, there is no better view than being surrounded by snow-covered mountains. We spent the first few days exploring and becoming more familiar with existing in that kind of environment. I was humbled by my ability to walk with crampons (rip to the bottoms of all my pants). Some of my favourite learning came from our technical rope system practice; we got the opportunity to lower a partner down into a crevasse and use our systems to pull them back out. From above, crevasses look intimidating but being inside of one solidifies the importance in the knowledge we were gaining out there.
I went into the course with no expectations as to what we would be learning or working towards… though I was holding onto the hope that we would get to summit some peaks. And, we ended up summiting Mt Gordon, a 10,371 ft peak. That was our first taste of real glacier travel, having to navigate through the crevasses as we made our way up to the ridge. Other than one rocky section we had to scramble up, it was a relatively gradual climb. I was completely fuelled by the excitement of the summit being within reach (it was needed as I had been feeling unwell from the silty water). We had made it back down to the base of the glacier by lunch, so I think it is safe to say that my entire group was driven to reach the summit. The rest of our day was spent ice climbing in a mill well; a large hole that is caused by a “river” of water on the glacier. The instructors you get on a course really matters in the experience you will have and ours provided every opportunity for us to learn.
KAYAK 1
📍CLEARWATER RIVER
My intro to the world of whitewater. I was out of my element. Kayak 1 is one of the few courses required for graduation and I am certain it is to force us into embracing being uncomfortable. I can confidently say it achieved at least that. In all honesty, kayak was a blast and the progression was incredible. We spent our first day in the boats on a lake practicing our paddle strokes and getting an introduction into rolling a kayak. We spent the whole five days running the Clearwater river and the familiarity of the rapids allowed us to become comfortable in the basics of running a river. The first few times flipping in a rapid result in an instant swim… for me at least. The transfer from a roll on a flat water lake to a moving rapid seemed to play with my mind.
I seem to be a magnet for river features that I should not go into.
ROCK 1
📍SKAHA PROVINCIAL PARK
PIN PARTY
NOV 28, 2024
SWIFT WATER RESCUE
📍CHILIWACK RIVER
ROCK 2
📍SKAHA PROVINCIAL PARK
KAYAK 2
📍THOMPSON NICOLA REGION
RAFT
📍BULL RIVER, EAST KOOTENAYS
YEAR 2
SWIFTWATER ROPE RESCUE
📍CLEARWATER RIVER
Somehow I found myself taking a semester of strictly water based field courses. I am still trying to figure out when (and how) I developed a desire to be on the river. The environment that scared the shit out of me at the beginning of my first year (and I won’t lie, sometimes still does) has become one of my favourites and quite honestly one of the things that I miss most after the end of my time in Adventure Studies.
I spent two weeks on the river with the same ten people (who were almost entirety a group of badass women) doing some of the craziest rope systems and rapid swimming that I never thought I would do. I am honestly just proud of the fact that I was able to get myself off of the rocks and into the water when every part of me wanted to stay out of those rapids. The more I developed an understanding of the way the water moves and the features that I was swimming into, the less daunting it became.
The first six days were based on the Clearwater river, completing a Swiftwater Rope Rescue Technician course. It consisted of some fairly complex rope systems which we somehow had to find way to put across a river. This was a swiftwater course that I felt was in my scope of knowledge, taking the rope systems I knew from climbing and transferring them to a new environment. It made the parts of the course that took place in the water, slightly less daunting. With that being said, there were habits that I picked up from the rock world that were hard to break to accommodate swiftwater rules. It still doesn’t feel right to drop off the end of my rope while rappelling.
ADVANCED SWIFTWATER RESCUE
📍FRASER RIVER
The next two weeks were spent on the Fraser River near Mount Robson Provincial Park. My brain did not want to adjust to a less rope based and more swimming based course. We swam in rapids that I wouldn’t have even thought were possible to go near, let alone be in. I feel drawn to the whitewater environment because of that uncomfortable feeling. I know that I am growing as a person every time I put myself into a place that scares me. The g
WATCH OUR MINI RAFTING EXPEDITION HERE
Spending over twenty weeks in the field makes a tent feel more like home than any house could.